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Cardinal Van Der Meer
Trickster. Tactician. The Enemy. : The events of December 2003 created a curious precedent within Camarilla politics. Just when it seemed that the Court would be unable to muster the marshal power it needed to take on the forces of Castelan, VT8-16 (who later turned out to be an infiltrator) received a telephone call from “His Brothers in the Sabbat” who had come to aid the Kindred of the City in their time of need. Thus began the first known Sabbat occupation of the city since the events of Birmingham. At the forefront of this group was the Lasombra known as Cardinal Van Der Meer. Little is known about Van Der Meer’s past, although it is rumoured that he may have participated in the Sabbat’s long running siege of New York where he held power over one of the five boroughs following a bloody uprising against the former Cardinal that led to the Camarilla gaining a foothold on the territory for the first time in five years. Whatever the truth of these rumours, the argument that there are no politics within the Sabbat seems to be a moot point to Van Der Meer. What is clearer is that he is a Cardinal of considerable tactical acumen; the Court experienced few of the full frontal attacks normally associated with a Sabbat presence in the city. Instead, Van Der Meer seems content to play the waiting game, striking only when he is most likely to cause considerable damage to his target. His tactics so far have included holding members of the Court to ransom before infecting them with his vitae, attacking valuable commodities within the city, mass embrace to form a core unit of shock troops to use against the Court and sowing seeds of dissent wherever possible. Rumours have also begun to emerge that he may be in league with Shara and that she may be responsible for his relocation from New York, a disturbing prospect indeed. Whilst initially pro-active in his actions, Van Der Meer seemed to retreat following the actions of the Archon against his pack in June 2004. With no further evidence of the Sabbat residing in the city being found, despite numerous searches by the Court, some began to speculate that he may have taken his pack underground to recuperate. Others begun to speculate that he may have had another agenda, one that revolved around the possible presence of a Salubri child. Answers to these questions were discovered in November of the same year. A routine search indicated that a split had emerged within the Sabbat pack, with one group rallying behind the Ventrue Antribu Bishop Raymond, and a smaller group remaining loyal to the Cardinal. As the battle raged, a small group of Kindred from the Court was assembled for the task of attacking the smaller group when the opportunity arose. Van Der Meer fled with the Salubri child in tow. Tracked to his hiding place, he and his small band of loyal followers were attacked by the Court. A fierce battle ensued, and all seemed lost when Van Der Meer disappeared into his own engineered darkness. Despite serious injuries being suffered, members of the Court continued to do battle with him within the impenetrable darkness. Who landed the final blow? That question remains unknown, but in an instant the darkness that had surrounded him receded and the years began to take their toll upon Van Der Meer, his body turning to ash before the assembled Kindred. But questions remain. Why did his formerly loyal Bishop turn against him? Why was he so keen to protect the Salubri? And why was he last seen in the company of Aron Kiln? Why had the Sabbat ceased hostilities against the Court? “Apparent leader of the Sabbat sect in Stoke, he appears to be a formidable fighter and tactician. He seems to take delight in baiting the Court." “Evil, twisted, Sabbat monster with a flair for melodramatic traps. A shadow manipulating cowardly beast.”